Central kitchens to serve urban schools as Chhattisgarh strengthens nutrition programme benefiting over 29 lakh children
TFP Bureau, Raipur, June 19,2026: Chhattisgarh Chief Secretary Vikassheel has directed officials to ensure the uninterrupted supply of hot cooked meals to students in Classes 1 to 8 under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman Yojana, while emphasising strict monitoring and improved food quality across government schools.
The directions were issued during a meeting of the State-level Monitoring-cum-Steering Committee for the flagship nutrition programme held at Mantralaya, Mahanadi Bhawan, on Thursday.
Chairing the meeting, the Chief Secretary instructed officials to ensure that every government primary and upper primary school in the state consistently provides hot meals and supplementary nutrition to students. He also called for continuous field-level monitoring of the scheme’s implementation and directed departments to maintain an uninterrupted supply of LPG for cooking.
A key focus of the meeting was the adoption of the central kitchen model in urban areas. Reviewing the annual action plan for the 2026–27 academic session, Vikassheel asked officials to ensure that schools located in cities and nearby areas receive meals prepared through centralised kitchens to maintain high standards of hygiene, quality and efficiency.
The Chief Secretary also stressed the need to integrate the scheme with rural livelihoods by encouraging women’s self-help groups engaged in meal preparation to cultivate vegetables and spices. The initiative is expected to provide children with fresher and more nutritious meals while creating additional income opportunities for the participating groups.
Officials informed the meeting that the PM Poshan Shakti Yojana is currently being implemented in more than 56,000 government schools across Chhattisgarh, serving hot meals and supplementary nutrition to over 29 lakh students every day. More than 86,000 cooks are involved in preparing and distributing meals under the programme.
The meeting was attended by senior officials from the School Education, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Food and Civil Supplies, Revenue and Disaster Management, Panchayat and Rural Development, Finance, Health, and Women and Child Development departments, along with representatives of the Chhattisgarh Human Rights Commission and the Civil Supplies Corporation.
